Promotion of oral health in schoolchildren in the framework of a comprehensive collective intervention, conducted in the period

Abstract

Objective: Oral health is a public health challenge that must be addressed by integrating its social and biological dimensions to adopt a dental practice with a sense of integrality that takes into account the needs and potentialities of each person and context. The objective of this study was to analyze the oral health status of schoolchildren in a socio-environmentally vulnerable urban area of the city of Córdoba, Argentina, within the framework of a comprehensive collective intervention, conducted in the period 2013-2015 at the María del Tránsito Cabanillas school. Material and Methods: The intervention was organized in 3 stages: diagnosis, collective design and implementation of oral health promotion strategies, and evaluation, applying qualitative and quantitative logics appropriate to the object of study. Diagnosis was carried out in 2013, performing a clinical-dental examination of schoolchildren aged 6 to 8 years and a participatory study of the school environment. Results: Based on the diagnostic data, the stage of collective design and implementation of promotion strategies and oral health care was carried out. The evaluation of the intervention was performed through the clinical-dental examination of schoolchildren aged 10 to 12 years who attended the school in 2015, and who, also having attended the same institution in 2013, participated in the diagnostic study and analysis of the qualitative records related to the intervention. Healthy clinical trends and positive assessments by the different actors were observed. Conclusion: The results encourage continuing conducting comprehensive intervention strategies for oral health promotion and care.